Con-traction

In 2004 the buildings of the General Motors auto industry in Flint, Michigan, were demolished due to the bankruptcy of the company. The event influenced significantly economically and socially the area.

I invited the local people to collect the remaining stones from the buildings and form a circle. I, then, asked them to cross through the circle and deconstruct it, wearing workers’ boots. The construction and deconstruction of the circle offered a journey of contemplation from the past to the present and revealed an aspect to the ephemerality of the things. At the end of the process the participants were asked to write their thoughts.